The Well-Tempered Ear
Beethoven’s Ninth turns 200 today
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By Jacob Stockinger
Perhaps the only symphony more iconic than Beethoven’s Ninth is the Fifth Symphony by the same composer (below).
But today we celebrate the premiere of the pioneering Ninth Symphony that took place 200 years ago on May 7, 1824. Below is the original poster announcing the concert program with the premiere, which Beethoven conducted in his total deafness.
Here is a link to an anniversary story, with lots of historical background about the original performance, by the PBS affiliate WETA in Washington, D.C.:
https://weta.org/fm/classical-score/may-7-1824-200th-anniversary-premiere-beethovens-symphony-no-9
The 70-minute-long Ninth — also called the “Choral” Symphony — is a remarkable work in so many ways. It remains perhaps the most universal music ever written, meaningful to many different individuals and cultures.
Unlike most symphonies of the time, the opening does not immediately announce a theme. It seems to drift around until it finds a solid key and recognizable theme and rhythm. And then it takes off. It reminds The Ear of the depiction by Haydn, Beethoven’s teacher, in his oratorio “The Creation.”
The New York Times also has an essay by Daniel Barenboim about the meaning of Beethoven’s Ninth. No doubt that would be interesting and enlightening to read. But unfortunately the Times hides it behind a pay wall. Only subscribers get to see it right now.
Instead, here is a comprehensive look in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._9_(Beethoven)
The famous choral setting of German poet Friedrich Schiller’s 1785 “Ode to Joy” of the last movement is also the official hymn of the European Union. This was the first use of a chorus in a symphony but would not be the last.
In Japan, the same “Ode to Joy” is sung en masse with a chorus up to 10,000 in stadiums every New Year’s Day and on other special occasions, as you can see in the YouTube video at the bottom, an event that took place after a horrendous earthquake and tsunami. The idealistic music embodies the journey from despair to hope, and to brotherhood and solidarity with all people and all nations.
Leonard Bernstein directed it in Berlin to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall and the coming of German reunification.
As its theme, the nightly Huntley-Brinkley New Report on NBC used to use the percussive, pounding, rhythmically propulsive Scherzo movement — which is The Ear’s favorite movement.
The Ear also thinks that the soulful slow movement has strong suggestions of the lovely and well-known slow movement of Beethoven’s earlier “Pathétique” piano sonata. But it doesn’t seem to have been used as a theme or in a movie soundtrack. Does anyone know differently?
What does the Ninth Symphony mean to you?
What do you think of the Ninth and how do you rank it among other symphonies?
Do you have a favorite recording or performance?
What is your favorite movement of Beethoven’s Ninth?
What other uses of The Ninth do you know of?
The Ear wants to hear
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What classical music is good for studying, reading and writing?
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By Jacob Stockinger
It is about to be Finals Week here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in many other places.
Little wonder, then, that The Ear recently read a good story about the role of of music in studying.
It was written by a student journalist for The State Press at Arizona State University in Tempe. It covered more kinds of music than classical, but it had some good comments about the ability of music and its various components — melody, rhythm, tempo, text — to focus one’s attention or to distract from the necessary focus.
Here is a link to the story, which also includes 100 music selections from mixed genres:
It got me to wondering what classical music do you readers like for studying, reading and writing — if you like it at all for such serious and intense tasks.
The Ear tends to love listening to Baroque music — especially Vivaldi violin concertos and Bach harpsichord concertos such as the one in the YouTube video at the bottom — and to chamber music and solo piano music.
So, what music do you like to listen to when you are: studying? reading? writing?
Do you have a favorite style, or favorite composer, or favorite pieces?
The Ear wants to hear.
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YOU MUST HEAR: Alkan’s ‘Barcarolle’
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By Jacob Stockinger
One of the standout recordings for The Ear this past year was “Waves.”
It is a recital of Baroque, Romantic and modern French piano music by Bruce Liu (below), who won the 18th Chopin Competition in 2021 and has since skyrocketed to fame.
Here is Liu’s story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Liu
Liu’s first recording for Deutsche Grammophon was a memorable and highly acclaimed all-Chopin recital made up of excerpts from his competition appearances. Recently, “Waves” (below), his second solo recording, was released.
You can enjoy “Waves” for the crisply articulated Rameau theme-and-variations suite. Or for the nuanced Ravel in “Miroirs” (Mirrors).
But Liu — who was born in Paris to Chinese parents, who came of age in Montreal, Canada, and who speaks fluent Mandarin, French and English — manages to unearth a piece that at least this pianophile never heard before and now wants to play.
It is the Barcarolle by the eccentric and misanthropic French-Jewish composer Charles-Valentin Alkan (1833-88, below).
I’m not usually a fan of Alkan.
He possessed a titanic keyboard technique and his music often sounds too much like simply a showcase for it, especially his Solo Concerto for Piano. Too often he sounds just too much over the top, too forced and virtuosic, not naturally lyrical or accessible.
Perhaps that stems from having so little social contact in his personal and artistic life.
Here is a walk-through narrative of his life: https://www.pianotv.net/2016/10/brief-history-charles-alkan/
And here is his Wikipedia biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Valentin_Alkan
But then I heard Liu playing Alkan’s Barcarolle — one of a set of pieces —and was joyfully surprised. It sounds mysterious and wistful, more like a nocturne than a rocking-boat barcarolle to me. And it even sounds playable by amateurs like The Ear.
So I intend to check out more Alkan, especially the short pieces like preludes.
Listen to the 4-minute Barcarolle in the YouTube video at the bottom.
What do you think?
Do you like it? Are you surprised by it?
Would you want to play it?
What do you think of Alkan?
Can you suggest other listenable and even playable pieces by Alkan?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Met operas start this Saturday at noon on Wisconsin Public Radio and in local cinemas. Check out the Top 10 rising opera stars
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By Jacob Stockinger
The new season of weekly live radio broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera starts this Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, at noon on Wisconsin Public Radio. It open the “Met Live in HD” season at noon at the Point and The Palace cinemas on Madison’s west side and Sun Prairie, respectively. Here is the “Live in HD” schedule: https://www.metopera.org/season/in-cinemas/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA98WrBhAYEiwA2WvhOj0HP5-xcXKDJFvUeS_2VO_wu0imdxy1aRnN-aFgYuC3yYL90dbf2BoCFKsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
The opening opera is the exotic, lyrically melodic and Romantic “Florencia en el Amazonas” (Florence in the Amazon, below and in the YouTube preview at the bottom) by the Mexican composer Daniel Catan.
It will be the first opera staged in Spanish at the Met in many decades. But you might recall that the Madison Opera and Madison Symphony Orchestras under John DeMain presented it in an outstanding production at the Overture Center in the spring of 2018.
Here is a review from this blog to remind you about the work and the local production:
And here is the complete schedule of Met radio broadcasts on Saturday afternoons, which includes works by Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Bizet, Puccini, Wagner, Gounod, Terrence Blanchard, Anthony Davis and Jake Heggie among others.
https://www.metopera.org/season/radio/saturday-matinee-broadcasts/
But The Ear thought you might also like to read and listen to what OperaWire sees at the The Top 10 up-and-coming opera singers, who just might be heard in this season’s or future productions at the Met.
The story has profiles with biographies, appearances in upcoming productions, here and in Europe, as well as singing samples from YouTube:
What do you think of “Florencia en el Amazonas”?
Which singers, productions and broadcasts do you most look forward to?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Hyperion Records to stream music — finally
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By Jacob Stockinger
It is a case of answered prayers.
The Ear very much wanted to hear the critically acclaimed recordings of late piano pieces by Brahms and Chopin nocturnes by the British pianist Sir Stephen Hough. But they were unavailable for streaming. (You can hear appeal excerpts from the release along with critical acclaim in the YouTube video at the bottom. Click on Watch on YouTube.)
So I was considering buying the expensive recordings in CD format.
Until Friday. Now I don’t have to worry or spend money. And neither do you if you use a streaming service.
For the first time in its history, Hyperion Records will start streaming its classical catalogue. This weekend streamed both of the Hough recordings.
Here is a story with more details: https://www.classical-music.com/news/hyperion-records-to-stream-for-the-first-time/
That means consumers who use a streaming service such as Apple Music, Idagio, Spotify, Presto, Total and Amazon will finally have access to some terrific artists and outstanding recordings.
Specifically, Hyperion — the home to many fine and well-established artists (below) has been acquired by Universal Music Group and will be issued on Decca and Deutsche Grammophon labels.
Clockwise from top left are: Violinist Alina Ibragimova, pianist Andrey Gugin (who won the Sydney International Competition), pianist Angela Hewitt, pianist Stephen Hough, conductor Martyn Brabbins and cellist Steven Isserlis. (Image courtesy of Hyperion Records)
Hyperion was something of a longtime hold-out when it came to the streaming platform. However, as Hyperion’s managing director Simon Perry explains, times have changed for the privately owned, independent label.
“The world is moving very quickly towards a different way of accessing music,” he says. “This seems to be the way forward, as it’s what people want. It also became clear to us that we needed to make sure that our artists had representation on streaming platforms, so we decided it was time to get involved.”
The Ear is very big fan of Hough, who has performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra several times and offered a master class at the UW-Madison.
He also relishes listening to Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt’s outstanding and prize-winning performances of Baroque keyboard works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, and François Couperin as well as her complete Beethoven and Ravel cycles. She has performed at the Wisconsin Union Theater.
Cellist Steven Isserlis has also performed at the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Union Theater. And the prolific supervirtuoso pianist Marc-André Hamelin has performed Ravel and Richard Strauss with the symphony. (I particularly like his several volumes of piano sonatas by Haydn.)
One of my favorite string quartets — the Takács String Quartet, which has also performed at the Wisconsin Union Theater — will also have its catalogue of great quartets by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert available. Its new recording combines works by Dvorak and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
If you go to the Hyperion website (bel0w) and click on More, you can see an impressive lists of performers: https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk
The initial batch to be streamed will feature 200 releases and by spring of 2024 will gradually work its way through the entire Hyperion back catalogue of more than 2,000 recordings, off music from the 12th century to the 21 century, that date back to the label’s founding in 1980.
What do you think of Hyperion’s move to streaming?’
Who are your favorite Hyperion artists?
What are your favorite Hyperion recordings?
The Ear wants to hear.
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I’ll hear what she’s hearing: Tchaikovsky and the Big O in LA
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By Jacob Stockinger
Who says classical music is staid and boring?
Remember that famous scene in the movie “When Harry Met Sally” where Meg Ryan demonstrates to Billy Crystal during lunch in a deli how she can fake sexual ecstasy?
And then a woman sitting nearby who overhears the crescending moans tells a waitress “I’ll have what she is having.”
Something like it actually — or at least supposedly — happened during a recent concert in Disney Hall by the Los Angeles Philharmonic during a performance of the Symphony No. 5 by Tchaikovsky.
Some audience members dispute it, but others are certain a woman experienced a “loud, full-body orgasm” during the ultra-Romantic second movement (below in a YouTube video).
Talk about audience response!
The incident has gone viral on the Internet and has also been covered in serious newspapers.
Here is one of the most colorful stories, from The New York Post, that also has the video and some interesting background, including the actual video:
What would Tchaikovsky say?
What do you say?
Do you think it happened? Or is even possible?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Nobody expressed romantic love in music better or more often than Robert Schumann
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today — Feb. 14, 2023 — is Valentine’s Day.
When it comes to composing music that expresses romantic love, The Ear thinks nobody did it more consistently or better than Robert Schumann.
Inspired by his wife Clara, a former student who defied her father to marry Robert, Schumann (seen below with Clara) put romantic love at the heart of so many pieces.
One of his finest is the second movement of the eight-movement piano suite “Kreisleriana,” Op. 16. Perhaps you will agree after listening to it played by Martha Argerich in the YouTube video below.
Check it out.
Does it move you?
If you have a different choice for a composer or a piece suitable for the occasion today, please include it, perhaps with a YouTube link, as a comment.
Happy Valentine’s Day
The Ear wants to hear.
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This Sunday at 4 p.m., the Salon Piano Series debuts an online recital by pianist Kangwoo Jin. He plays music by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Liszt and Schumann. It is up until May 9
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. CDT, the Salon Piano Series, hosted by Farley’s House of Pianos, will debut an online concert by pianist Kangwoo Jin (below, in a photo by Andy Manis).
The concert, which was recorded at Luther Memorial Church, costs $10 and will be available online through May 9.
The program is:
Scarlatti – Sonatas in D minor and D Major, K. 213 and 214 (ca. 1756-1757)
Beethoven – Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, “Moonlight” (1801)
Liszt – Transcriptions for solo piano of the songs “Widmung” (Dedication) by Robert Schumann and “Litanei” (Litany) by Franz Schubert
Schumann – Symphonic Etudes, Op.13 (1830)
Bishop – Home, Sweet Home
Tickets are only available online at eventbrite.com. Service fees apply. Complete program and concert information is at salonpianoseries.org
PROGRAM NOTES
Jin has written the following program notes for The Ear:
“As a musician, I am always eager to share music with the public. I am very excited to be able to reach out to the audience with this unprecedented Salon Piano Series Virtual Concert.
“I believe music soothes our mental health in difficult times regardless of age, gender or race. I very much hope my performance will contribute to this collective healing we feel through music.
“I wanted to include three different styles, as I usually do for recitals. This time I have Baroque, Classical and Romantic music.
“I chose one of the most famous Beethoven sonatas in order to celebrate his 250th birth year (2020), which I did not have a chance to mark last year.
“This piece is popular with the title of “Moonlight,” which Beethoven (below) never intended. Five years after his death, the German critic Ludwig Rellstab used the word “Moonlight” in order to describe the first movement. But it was really inspired by the funeral march in Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni.” I try to bring out the tragic color of the first movement. (You can hear Jin play the exciting final movement of the sonata in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“I also wanted to play the virtuosic masterpiece “Symphonic Etudes,” Op. 13, by Robert Schumann (below), including the beautiful posthumous variations 4 and 5.
I find this piece special in the sense that Schumann intended to make this piece “symphonic.” He created multiple layers of voices in various ways through each etude and created orchestral sounds. This polyphonic writing with multiple layers and a thick texture is what makes this piece difficult to play.
“I also specifically wanted to include one of the piano transcriptions by Franz Liszt (below) of Schubert’s Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen (Litany for the Feast of All Souls), D. 343.
“Schubert (below) used the poem “Litany” by Johann Jacobi (1740-1814). It is written for comforting the deceased. Robert Capell, the author of the book “Schubert’s Songs” (1929), said about this lied: There was never a truer or more touching expression of simple devotion and consoled grief … “The music rises from a pure well of affection and humility.”
“I would like to dedicate this piece to all the people who suffered from Covid 19.”
BACKGROUND
Here is a link to Kangwoo Jin’s impressive website where you can see many photos, learn about his extensive career as a teacher and hear many samples of his playing: https://www.pianistkangwoojin.com
Praised for his “refined tone quality with powerful energy” (Chosun Daily Newspaper), Jin (below, in a photo by Steve Apps for the Wisconsin State Journal) concertizes nationally and internationally, including performances in Germany, Italy, China, Indonesia and South Korea.
He gave his debut concert at the Sejong Arts Center in Seoul, South Korea, sponsored by the Chosun Daily Newspaper. He has given live performances on Wisconsin Public Radio and WORT 89.9 FM.
Jin appears frequently as a guest artist at music festivals, universities and various concert series. Recent invitations include UW-River Falls, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and Tongji University in Shanghai. Kawai Pianos USA has also invited him as a guest artist at the annual Piano Technicians Guild Convention and Technical Institute in Florida.
Jin completed the Bachelor of Music degree at Hanyang University in South Korea, then earned his Performer Diploma and Master’s of Music at Indiana University, where he worked as an associate instructor.
He is the recipient of the J. Battista Scholarship for performance excellence at Indiana University and received the Collins Distinguished Fellowship for his doctoral studies, completed last year, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied piano with Christopher Taylor and piano pedagogy with Jessica Johnson.
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Starting TODAY, the First Unitarian Society of Madison offers three free, online mini-concerts at noon on Fridays to celebrate Women’s History Month
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post about three free, online mini-concerts to celebrate Women’s History Month through the Friday Noon Musicales at the First Unitarian Society of Madison.
The concerts start today:
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
• To celebrate Women’s History Month, the First Unitarian Society of Madison will present three Friday Noon Musicales during March.
• All three will be guest produced by Iva Ugrcic.
• Iva Ugrcic (below) is Founding Artistic Director of the Madison-based LunART Festival, which supports, inspires, promotes and celebrates women in the arts.
• Each program will feature highlights from past LunART Festival performances.
• Each program will be approximately 45 minutes long.
DATES AND PROGRAMS
Each video will become available at noon on the indicated date, and will remain available for viewing in perpetuity.
This Friday, March 12 — Works by living composers Jocelyn Hagen, Salina Fisher and Missy Mazzoli (below top), as well as Romantic-era composer Clara Schumann (below bottom, Getty Images). Specific titles are not named.
Performers include: Iva Ugrcic, flute; Matthew Onstad, trumpet; Tom Macaluso, trombone; Elena Ross and Todd Hammes, percussion; Kyle Johnson, Jason Kutz, Satoko Hayami and Yana Avedyan, piano; Beth Larson and Isabella Lippi, violin; Karl Lavine, cello (below); ARTemis Ensemble.
Friday, March 19 — Works by living composers Linda Kachelmeier, Elsa M’bala, Doina Rotaru (below top) and Eunike Tanzil, as well as Medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen (below bottom) and Romantic-era Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. Specific works are not named. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear flutist Iva Ugrcic play Doina Rotaru’s haunting “Japanese Garden.”)
Performers include: Iva Ugrcic, flute; Jose Ignacio Santos Aquino, clarinet; Midori Samson, bassoon; Breta Saganski and Dave Alcorn, percussion; Satoko Hayami (below), Jason Kutz and Eunike Tanzil, piano; ARTemis Ensemble
Friday, March 26 — Alexandra Olsavsky, Edna Alejandra Longoria, Kate Soper and Jenni Brandon as well as post-Romantic era American composer Amy Beach (below bottom). Specific pieces are not named.
Performers include: ARTemis Ensemble; a string quartet with violinists Isabella Lippi and Laura Burns, violist Fabio Saggin, and cellist Mark Bridges (below); Jeff Takaki, bass; Vincent Fuh and Kyle Johnson, piano; Jennifer Lien, soprano; Iva Ugrcic, flute.
THREE OPTIONS FOR ATTENDING
• Website — https://www.fusmadison.org/musicales
• Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/fusmadison
• YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/fusmadison > “Playlists” > “Music at FUS”
ABOUT THE “FRIDAY NOON MUSICALES” RECITAL SERIES
• The Friday Noon Musicales at First Unitarian Society is a free noon-hour recital series offered as a gift to the community.
• Founded in 1971, 2020-2021 is the series’ 50th season.
• The series has featured some of the finest musicians in the Midwest, who flock to perform in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Landmark Auditorium.
• The music performed is mostly classical, but folk, jazz and musical theater styles are presented on occasion.
• During the pandemic, the Musicales have largely been on hiatus.
JUSTICE AND MUSIC INITIATIVE (JAM)
• The Justice And Music Initiative (JAM) at the First Unitarian Society of Madison represents a commitment to more socially equitable and earth-friendly music practices.
• This commitment includes music performed on our campus, both for worship and non-worship events.
• To help achieve our goal, we recognize and celebrate recognition days and months with our musical selections, such as Hispanic Heritage Month (9/15–10/15), LGBT History Month (October); Native American Indian Heritage Month (November), Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), and African-American Music Appreciation Month (prev. Black Music Month; June).
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Pianist John O’Conor plays the sublimely beautiful Impromptu in G-Flat Major by Franz Schubert
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear loves Franz Schubert, who wrote supremely beautiful music. And one of his most sublime pieces comes from his first set of Impromptus for solo piano, the one in G-Flat Major, D. 899, No. 3.
This beautiful music was superbly performed here in 2018 by the Irish pianist John O’Conor (below), who specializes in the composers of the Classical era — especially Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart. He also has revived the music of the Irish Romantic composer John Field and appeared in Madison with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
Here is the introduction from the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos, which booked, hosted and recorded the live solo recital performance (below) on May 12, 2018.
“During these uncertain times, we appreciate remembering time spent together enjoying music.
“Please take a break from your day to see and hear John O’Conor perform Franz Schubert’s Impromptu in G-flat, D. 899, No. 3, in the YouTube video at the bottom that was recorded live at Farley’s House of Pianos as part of the Salon Piano Series on May 12, 2018.
“To see how the 1908 Chickering concert grand played by John O’Conor was restored, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5RJWeve6R8
“Over the years, you have supported Salon Piano Series with your attendance, individual sponsorships and donations (you can link to https://salonpianoseries.org/donate).
“We look forward to bringing you world-class musical performances in our unique salon setting again soon.
Sincerely,
Salon Piano Series
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